Automatic telephone-alarm.



No. 880,155. PATENTED FEB. 25, 1908.

M. L. MURDOGK 5 J, 0. GALLAGHER.

AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE ALARM.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR.25.1907.

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No. 880,155. PATENTED FEB. 25, 1908.

M L. MURDOGK &: J. G. GALLAGHER.

AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE ALARM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.25.1907.

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MILTON MURDOCK AND JOHN C. GALLAGHER, OF ELMIRA, NEW YORK; SAID GALLAGHER ASSIGNOR TO SAID'MURDOCK.

AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE-ALARM. I

V No. 880,155.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25, 1908.

Application fil d March 25. 1907. Serial No. 364,541.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, MILT N L. MURDooK and JOHN C. GALLAGHER, citizens of the United States, residing at 'Elmira, in the county of hemung and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Automatic Telephone-Alarm, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in devices for automatically signaling or sending in an alarm to outside parties, in case of emergency, from a building during the night hours, or when unoccupied; and our object is to provide means for automatically operating a telephone instrument to transmit an audible alarm signal to a telephone exchange or substation, or to any other place which may be in telephonic connection with the instrument.

One application of'our invention is to safeguard a night-watchman, as well as the building in his keeping, by signaling through a telephone exchange, or some suitably located substation, in case the watchman fails to make his rounds at his prescribed intervals either by reason of his being seized with sudden illness, or meeting with an accident on his rounds, or by his being knocked out by burglars; or by being remiss in his duties.

Heretofore it has been customary to provide buildings protected by night-watchmen with time recorders, which show the next day whether the watchman has been attentive to his duties or not. There has been, to our knowledge, however, no practical and efficient device for signaling, at the time of failure to perform such duties, the fact to the outside world. A watchman may thus have been incapacitated, by illness or accident suddenly coming upon him, from calling for help or from otherwise notifying those outside of his condition; and especially so in case of his being held up, while going his rounds, by burglars. By placing in the building means for automatically operating a tele phone to notify the operator at a telephone exchange of such an emergency, the police and the owner of the building may be promptly notified, and aid sent to the watchman before it is too late.

Another application of the invention is to automatically send notice through the telephone of fire or burglaries by placing our automatic signaling device in circuit with the wires of a local electrical burglar 0r fire alarm system, whereby an alarm will be sent in through the telephone immediately upon the alarm will be promptly transmitted to the proper authorities and to the owner, since the telephone operators must of necessity be always within call of the instrument throughout the day or night thus rendering this system of signaling especially effective where buildings are unoccupied and unprotected by watchmen.

l/Ve attain our object by the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents our apparatus arranged for signaling the failure of a watchman to perform his duties; Fig. 2, a trans verse vertical section thereof on the line a-a in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a detail showing a modification of the device to adapt it for application to fire and burglar alarm systems.

Like numerals designate like parts in the several views.

. Referring first to the watchmans protective signaling device: This consists of a clockwork 1, fastened to the back of a containing cabinet, which may be fastened to the walls of a room. Attached to the winding spindle of the clockwork is an arm 2, said spindle having its outwardly projecting end 3 squared in the usual manner to receive a key. In position to be engaged by the arm 2, is a dummy telephone receiver 4, provided at its downward end with a guide-rod 5, which is slidably mounted in the guide-block 6, tastened to the shelf 7 of the cabinet. A telephone instrument is placed in the cabinet with its hook arm 8 in position to be engaged by the dummy receiver, which is of a weight corresponding with that of the regular re ceiver. An electric alarm bell 9, or other signaling device, is placed in the cabinet and operated by a battery 10, shown in the illustrations as being a dry cell battery, placed upon .a shelf in the upper portion of the cabinet. The terminal wires of the signal circuit are connected with the contact plates 11 and Y12., supported upon a bracket 13, in position to be engaged by the arm 2, as it travels through a portion of its circle.

The cabinet is closed by a door, which may, if so desired, be made in two parts 14 and 15,

. transmitter may be talked into from outside the cabinet; or noises may be transmitted through the transmitter from the outisde. When so positioned in the locked cabinet, the regular telephone receiver may be placed outside of the cabinet, as shown in Fig. 1, the cord passing through an opening at the side at 19; and the guide-rod 5 attached to the dummy receiver may be extended down into an opening through the shelf 7, as indicated in the broken lines, so that the dummy receiver may be lifted, by inserting the finger and pushing upward on the guide-rod, and a conversation carried on with the eX- change or other telephone station, by the watchman or other parties, independent of the signaling device.

When the device is placed in operative position, the arm 2 will be turned backward around to the right until placed in the posi tion indicated by the broken line, where it will be brought up against the dummy receiver as a stop; and the clockwork will be so regulated as to carry the arm around. and into the position shown in the full lines, where it is just on the point of raising the receiver, in a prescribed period of time, for instance, one hour. After the arm has reached the position shown in full lines, it will engage the shoulder 20 at the bottom of the receiver, and will gradually lift said re ceiver, thereby permitting the hook 8 to rise and place the instrument in circuit with the line wires; and thereby calling the exchange operator or other party to the phone at the other end of the line. As soon as the arm 2 has raised the transmitter 4L sufficiently to make connection with the outside through the instrument, it will come in contact with the spring plate 11 forming one of the terminals of the alarm circuit, pressing said plate in upon the other terminal 12 thereby closing the alarm circuit and causing said alarm to continue in action during the period in which the arm is traveling past the plate 11, and while said arm is holding the receiver in its elevated position. This period of time may be regulated to any number of minutes, say five, or ten, or more, as may be desirable; long enough for the party on the other end of the line to get to his instrument and receive the alarm transmitted from the bell through the telephone. As the arm passes out from under the shoulder the receiver will drop back to place and disconnect-the instrument, the bevel on the shoulder preventing the receiver from dropping too suddenly.

YVhile the watchman is about tending to his business, it will be one of his duties to insert his key just before the termination of each hour, or other period occupied by the arm in traveling through its circle, and turn the arm back to its starting position; thus reventing an alarm from being sent out. Should he fail to so turn the arm back, the alarm will be sent in, and his failure will be promptly investigated. The act of turning the arm back also winds the clockwork, so that it cannot run down. In the daytime the leaf 15 of the door may be thrown open, as shown in Fig. 2, the telephone instrument drawn forward on the projecting portion of the shelf 7, and the regular receiver placed upon the hook 8, the instrument thenbeing used as occasion requires in the ordinary course of the business of the day.

While we have shown the cabinet herein arranged for the reception of a portable telephone set, we do not limit ourselves to this arrangement, as the apparatus may also be so constructed as to be applied to the so called wall-sets of telephone instruments; but, inasmuch as these wall-sets vary in construction, it will be simpler for purposes of manufacture and installation to prepare the apparatus for use in connection wlth portable sets. Moreover, we do not confine ourselves to the particular forms of detaining weights and means for relieving the receiver hook from said detaining weights, as herein de scribed.

Where buildings are not protected by watchmen, and also as an auxiliary protection against fire and burglars, even where watchmen are employed, this apparatus may be placed in connection with electric fire and burglar alarm systems and automatically operated, when the alarm circuits are established in said systems, by means such as we illustrate in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Here the bell 9 is connected by its wires with the circuit of an automatic electrical fire or burglar alarm system, and placed in operative connection with a modified form of the dummy receiver. In this case the receiver is made in the form of a cylinder 21, having an inclined bottom and a small 0 ening at 23 at the lower extremity thereof? The cylinder will have shot placed therein to give it a weight corresponding with, or slightly exceeding that of the regular receiver, and the cylinder will be hung upon the forks of the arm 8 by means of downturned ears 22 on each side. cylinder is closed by a trap 24, which is held in closed position by a latch 25, which engages the plate 26 depending from the cylinder. The latch is coupled by a li ht coiled spring 27 to the clapper 28 of the a arm bell;

The opening at the bottom of the,

and the cylinder is held from swinging upon strument, of a clockwork, an audible signalthe arm 8 by means of a suitably positioned stop or stops 29. The bell as thus arranged may also have a circuit running to the terminals 11 and 12 so as to be operated by the clockwork, in which case the arm 2 will simply operate to place the terminals in contact.

When the automatic fire or burglar alarm system has been set in operation, or the arm of the clockwork has engaged the terminals, the circuit established thereby will cause the clapper of the bell to vibrate in ringing the bell, and such vibrations transmitted through the spring 27 will release the latch 25, which will be in slight engagement with latch-plate 26, thus dropping the trap, and permitting the shot to run out from the receiver 21 into the cup or other receptacle placed therebelow on the shelf 7. As the shot runs out slowly, through the restricted opening 23, the receiver will rise, thereby establishing connection with the line wires and permitting the ringing of the alarm to be transmitted to the party at the other end of the line; the alarm being transmitted by such party immediately to police headquarters or fire headquarters as the case may be. The opening at the bottom of the receiver is made comparatively small, so as to cause the shot to run out slowly, thereby preventing the too sudden emptying of the receiver, and causing it to rise with an easy though quick motion. This small opening is also located adjacent the hinge of the trap 24, thereby reducing to a minimum the pressure of the shot as transmitted to the outer end of the trap where the latch is located; and permitting a slight vibration on the spring to withdraw the latch.

What we claim, therefore, and desire to se cure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination, with a telephone instrument and a telephone circuit, of an audible signaling device, means for automatically operating the instrument when the signaling device is actuated to place it in condition to transmit the signal over the circuit, and means for automatically disconnecting the instrument from said circuit after a limited period' of time.

2 The combination, with a telephone ining device, and means actuated by the clockwork at a determinate time for automatically sounding the signal and at the same time placing the instrument in operative condition to transmit the signal.

3. The combination, with a telephone instrument and a telephone circuit, of a clockwork, an audible signaling device, and means actuated by the clockwork at a determinate time for automatically sounding the signal and at the same time moving the receiver hook to place the instrument incon nection with the circuit.

4. The combination, with a telephone instrument and a telephone circuit, of a clockwork, an audible signaling device, means actuated by said clockwork at the end of a determinate period of time to connect the instrument with the circuit, and means for manually setting the clockwork back before the end of said period.

5. The combination, with a telephone instrument, of a cabinet adapted to be closed. and locked, means within the cabinet for automatically producing an audible alarm, a device adapted to engage and hold down the hook of the telephone instrument when inserted in the cabinet, and means operated in conjunction with the means for producing the alarm for actuating said device to lift the hook when the alarm is sounded.

6. The combination, with a telephone instrument, of a cabinet adapted to be closed and looked, a clockwork Within the cabinet, an arm rotated thereby, means for turning back the arm operable from outside the cabinet, a device adapted to engage and hold down the hook of the telephone instrument, said device being so positioned as to be raised by the arm during a portion of its travel, and means for sounding an audible alarm, said means being actuated by the arm to sound the alarm when said device is raised.

In testimony whereof we have affixed our signatures, in presence of two witnesses.

MILTON L. MURDOOK. JOHN C. GALLAGHER. T/Vitnesses:

A. S. DIVEN, M. E. VERBEoK. 

